Magnetic Gun Racks, Storages, Rests, and Firearm Support Systems

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a firearm support rack system comprising (1) a plurality of gun rack support structures with top and bottom opposing ends; (2) at least one mountable rest with an upper surface and a lower surface; and (3) a plurality of magnets with an upper surface and a lower surface. The gun rack support structures have at least one magnetic portion connected to the gun rack support structures. The gun rack support structure top end accepts at least a portion of the firearm. The bottom end of the gun rack support structures connect vertically or horizontally along the upper surface of the mountable rest; the upper surface of the magnets attach to the lower surface of the mountable rest. The gun rack support structure may also be substantially comprised of a magnet.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/917,103 filed Dec. 17, 2013. The entire contents of the above application are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of firearms and sportsman accessories. More specifically, the present invention relates to firearm racks, supports and storage systems.

BACKGROUND

Gun racks, mounts, storage mounts, mounting devices, shooting supports, shooting rests, gun bolts and other such devices are commonly used to safely, stably, and securely store, transport, rest, mount or display and provide for a portable option. An inherent tradeoff between bolted on stability is portability and ease of use. The current devices disclosed in the numerous embodiments resolve this trade off through the novel use of magnets to bind to metal surfaces in the immediate and surrounding environment and to the firearm or firearms on the rack.

PRIOR ART

Previous attempts to magnetically bind gun racks to metal surfaces have not provided the same stability that can be found with a bolted gun rack. For example,

U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,633 to Graebner discloses a detachable gun support member that has a base member that flexes to the contour of an automobile panel for magnetic mounting. However, it lacks stability that can only be provided by a plurality of mountable and adjustable base with magnetic capabilities. While there are gun racks that use magnetic clips to hold the gun in place, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3, 041,938 to Seabrook, there is no magnetic engagement of a base to a metal surface but rather it uses spindles or feet that engage the surface and they are bolted or screwed into place. Finally, while U.S. Pat. No. 8,403,278 does disclose a magnetic attachment of the base of the gun holding device to a metal surface, the device relies on a recessed area in a retaining member made from bulky foam rather than magnetic holders.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to address several challenges in previous attempts to provide a portable yet stable gun rack mounting system.

The present invention discloses a firearm support rack system comprising (1) a plurality of gun rack support structures with top and bottom opposing ends; (2) at least one mountable rest with an upper surface and a lower surface; and (3) a plurality of magnets with an upper surface and a lower surface. The gun rack support structures have at least one magnetic portion connected to the gun rack support structures. The gun rack support structure top end accepts at least a portion of the firearm. The bottom end of the gun rack support structures connect vertically or horizontally along the upper surface of the mountable rest; the upper surface of the magnets attach to the lower surface of the mountable rest. The gun rack support structure may also be substantially comprised of a magnet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of one embodiment of the firearm support system of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is rear perspective view of one embodiment of the firearm support system of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a side view of a second embodiment of the firearm support system of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a side view of a third embodiment of the firearm support system of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a side perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the firearm support system of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a bottom perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the firearm support system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the firearm support system of the present invention mounted to a car trunk ceiling.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning to FIG. 1A, a firearm support system is disclosed comprising at least one magnetic holder 10 securing the firearm to a support structure 20. The magnetic holder 10 is contoured to fit a portion of a firearm such as the barrel or the butt of the firearm and forms a snug and secure fit. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the support structure 20 may be substantially comprised of a magnet itself or as shown in FIG. 2A and 2B may form only part of the support structure 20 to be attached to the mountable rest 40. The mountable rest 40 may be of various shapes and configurations, such as a platform configuration shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 3A and 3B. However, as shown in FIG. 2B and 4, a plurality of mountable rests 40 may be connected by means of a mount bar 60 thereby reducing the size and heft of the device and contributing to its inherent portability. Additionally, in this embodiment, the mountable rests 40 may be moved along the mount bar 60 to accommodate the size of the firearm being supported. A plurality of mount magnets 50 are attached to the mountable rests 40 to allow the support system to be mounted to any number of places with a metal base. The placement of the plurality of mount magnets 50 will vary depending on the mount surface employed.

The firearm support system may be comprised of fixed or adjustable length gun racks, storage racks, gun rests, and other systems that use very strong magnets to secure them in and on vehicles and metal surfaces. The present invention allows for mounting of these devices and systems in a variety of locations—on vehicle roof tops, vehicle side walls, in camper shells, under and on vehicle trunks, on airplanes, boats, vans or recreation vehicles, on various parts of S.W.A.T., law enforcement and military vehicles, on any part of a vehicle or metal surface. In one embodiment, the single gun model shown in FIG. 4 also may be mounted to side panels or walls. The system further functions for indoor wall or closet racks by replacing the magnet mounts 50 with another suitable mounting device. In further embodiments dense foam padding may be utilized to protect the guns and the guns may be held securely by straps 30, as shown in FIG. 4; however, the strength and stability of the rack however comes from the magnetic holders 20, thereby allowing for either a minimal and lightweight strap. In some cases no strap at all is needed when the firearm is mounted vertically, such as shown in FIG. 3A and 3B.

The strength of the magnet mounts 50 attached to the mountable rests 40 may vary within a substantial range; however preferred embodiments include using very strong magnets, in some cases those just recently available. The size and shape of the magnets may also vary. Preferred embodiments include flat bottomed circular magnets connected to a support structure. In other embodiments the angle, shape, weight, and surface characteristics may be altered to achieve different performance characteristics. For example the bottom surface of the magnet connect to the metal surface may be flat, rounded, contain multiple sharp corners and other design to achieve a desired connection and stability with a specific metal surface. Any metal or magnetically responsive surface may be used with the current invention.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference has been made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language has been used to describe these embodiments. However, this specific language intends no limitation of the scope of the invention, and the invention should be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. The particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the invention in any way. For the sake of brevity, conventional aspects of the method (and components of the individual operating components of the method) may not be described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presented are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections might be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the invention unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A firearm support rack system comprising a. A plurality of gun rack support structures with top and bottom opposing ends; b. At least one mountable rest with an upper surface and a lower surface; and c. A plurality of magnets with an upper surface and a lower surface wherein the gun rack support structures have at least one magnetic portion connected to the gun rack support structures; wherein the gun rack support structure top end accepts at least a portion of the firearm; wherein the bottom end of the gun rack support structures connects vertically or horizontally along the upper surface of the mountable rest; and wherein the upper surface of the magnets attach to the lower surface of the mountable rest.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the mountable rest is a single platform.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the mountable rests are a plurality of platforms.
 4. The system of claim 3 further comprising a mount bar wherein the mountable rests are adjustable horizontally along the mount bar.
 5. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one strap wherein the strap secures the firearm in the gun rack support structure.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the magnets are flat bottomed and circular in shape.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the magnet is attached directly onto a metal or magnetically responsive surface.
 8. The system of claim 7 wherein the metal or magnetically responsive surface is substantially flat.
 9. The system of claim 7 wherein the lower surface of the magnet is flat.
 10. The system of claim 7 wherein the lower surface of the magnet is rounded.
 11. A firearm support rack system comprising a. A plurality of gun rack support structures with top and bottom opposing ends; b. At least one mountable rest with an upper surface and a lower surface c. A plurality of magnets with an upper surface and a lower surface wherein the gun rack support structure is substantially comprised of a magnet; wherein the gun rack support structure top end accepts at least a portion of the firearm; wherein the bottom end of the gun rack support structure connects vertically or horizontally along the upper surface of the mountable rest; and wherein the upper surface of the magnets attach to the lower surface of the mountable rest.
 12. The system of claim 11 wherein the mountable rest is a single platform.
 13. The system of claim 11 wherein the mountable rests are a plurality of platforms.
 14. The system of claim 13 further comprising a mount bar wherein the mountable rests are adjustable horizontally along the mount bar.
 15. The system of claim 11 further comprising at least one strap wherein the strap secures the firearm in the gun rack support structure.
 16. The system of claim 11 wherein the lower surface of the magnets are flat bottomed and circular in shape.
 17. The system of claim 11 wherein the lower surface of the magnets are attached directly onto a metal or magnetically responsive surface.
 18. The system of claim 17 wherein the metal or magnetically responsive surface is substantially flat.
 19. The system of claim 17 wherein the lower surface of the magnet is flat.
 20. The system of claim 17 wherein the lower surface of the magnet is rounded. 